The Gospel of Mark: a commentary & meditation
"Jesus called to him those
whom he desired"

Scripture: Mark 3:13-19

13 And he went up on the mountain, and called to him those whom he desired;
and they came to him. 4 And he appointed twelve, to be with him, and to
be sent out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons: 16 Simon
whom he surnamed Peter; 17 James the son of Zeb'edee and John the brother
of James, whom he surnamed Bo-aner'ges, that is, sons of thunder; 18 Andrew,
and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son
of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot,
who betrayed him. Then he went home.

Meditation: What is God's call on your life? When
Jesus embarked on his mission he chose twelve men for the task of preaching
the kingdom of God and healing the sick in the power of that kingdom. In
the choice of the twelve, we see a characteristic feature of God's work:
Jesus chose very ordinary people. They were non-professionals, who had
no wealth or position. They were chosen from the common people who did
ordinary things, had no special education, and no social advantages. Jesus
wanted ordinary people who could take an assignment and do it extraordinarily
well. He chose these men, not for what they were, but for what they would
be capable of becoming under his direction and power. When the Lord calls
us to serve, we must not shrug back because we think that we have little
or nothing to offer. The Lord takes what ordinary people, like us, can
offer and uses it for greatness in his kingdom. Do you make your life an
offering to the Lord and allow him to use you as he sees fit?

"Lord, fill me with gratitude and generosity for all you have done for
me. Take my life and all that I have as an offering of love for you, who
are my All."